North Korean military personnel participated in the military parade in honor of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, which was held on Red Square in Moscow.
As the North Korean army passed by, the announcer announced that the KPA soldiers had made a major contribution to “liberating the Kursk region from neo-Nazi invaders.”
Russian state media reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Senior Colonel Chi Yong-hoon, who led the parade band, and shook hands with North Korean military personnel.
After the Ukrainian armed forces invaded the Kursk region in August 2024, the DPRK sent its army to Russia to assist the Russian army. Russia did not recognize this until October 2024.
There is no official data on how many military personnel from the DPRK were sent to Russia. According to South Korean intelligence estimates, it amounted to about 15,000 people, while the Ukrainian side reported 11,000 military personnel. There is also no official data on the losses of North Korean forces in Russia. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the losses amounted to more than five thousand people, a third of whom were killed.